1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer program product, system, and method having data structures for system component management in a storage management system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a storage environment, a storage controller also often referred to as a server, typically receives input/output (I/O) instructions from a host to write data to or read data from data storage units controlled by the storage controller. The hosts and the storage controller frequently communicate with each other through host ports through which signal paths between the various hosts and the storage controller pass. A connection fabric often provides the connections between the hosts and the host ports. The connections of the connection fabric may be configurable by appropriate settings of switches or other devices to connect specific hosts to specific host ports. Other types of connection fabrics may have fixed paths to connect specific hosts to specific host ports.
The data is frequently stored in the storage units in units of data often referred to as a “storage volume.” Each storage volume is typically assigned one or more host ports. The assignments of specific storage volumes to specific host posts may be represented by a volume to host port mapping. The mapping of a storage volume to a host port permits data read from that volume to be transferred through the host port to which it is mapped. If a host is assigned to a host port which is mapped to the storage volume, the host may receive the read data through the host port mapped to the storage volume. Conversely, the mapping of a storage volume to a host port permits write data from a host assigned to a host port which is mapped to the storage volume, to be transferred through the host port to which the storage volume is mapped.
A storage controller is typically configured and administered by a user through a storage management system operating on the storage controller. Such management systems typically includes a user interface such as a graphical user interface (GUI) which facilitates such configuration and administration. In one type of such management system, the management system maintains in a database system configuration data identifying which storage volume (or groups of storage volumes) are mapped to a particular host port, but often do not maintain system configuration data identifying which storage volume or host port is connected to which host. Other types of management systems for storage controllers maintain both types of system configuration data, not only system configuration data identifying which storage volume (or groups of storage volumes) is mapped to a particular host port, but are also capable of maintaining system configuration data identifying which storage volume or host port is connected to which host. Accordingly, management system data structures for storing the system configuration data of the earlier generation management system may not be compatible with the requirements of a later generation management system for storing system configuration data. One approach is to add new classes of additional data structures to support the added system configuration data of the later generation storage management systems.